Fire Department

November 1, 2016 is the first day for open burning of yard waste for residents inside Jefferson City. Burning season will close on March 1, 2017. Residents may take yard waste to compost facility at 2417 Southridge Dr. For more information on compost facility go to www.jeffersoncitymo.gov and visit the Yard Waste page. Anyone needing further information on open burning may call the Jefferson City Fire Department at 573-634-6401.

“Don’t Wait – Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years,” represents the final year of the NFPA's three-year effort to educate the public about basic but essential elements of smoke alarm safety.

Why focus on smoke alarms three years in a row? Because NFPA’s survey data shows that the public has many misconceptions about smoke alarms, which may put you at increased risk in the event of a home fire. For example, only a small percentage of people know how old their smoke alarms are, or how often they need to be replaced.

As a result of those and related findings, we’re addressing smoke alarm replacement this year with a focus on these key messages:

Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

Make sure you know how old all the smoke alarms are in your home.

To find out how old a smoke alarm is, look at the date of manufacture on the back of the alarm; the alarm should be replaced 10 years from that date.

Seven times a day, someone dies in a home fire in the United States. Every 40 minutes, an injury from a fire is reported. Nearly 1,000 times every day, fire departments are called to home fires. Damage from US home fires is bigger than the entire annual sales of many Fortune 500 companies. For the past 20 years, these numbers have been relatively stagnant. By mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors, the American Red Cross and our coalition partners will attack that stagnation. In an unprecedented, nationwide effort to combine new technology and innovation with old-fashioned neighbor-to-neighbor outreach, we will save lives, reduce injuries, and cut down on needless losses. Our goal is to reduce the number of fire deaths and injuries in the United States by 25% within five years, and we aim to achieve that goal by carrying out the activities listed below together with our partners.

Our PurposeTo contribute to the overall quality of life by promoting a safe community through fire prevention and emergency response.

What We Do

The services provided by the fire department include: fire suppression, emergency medical services, rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, and overall management of emergencies. The department delivers emergency services from five fire stations strategically located within the city limits. Fire suppression services are rendered from seven fire trucks and one command vehicle. The frontline fleet includes three engines, two rescue pumpers, and two 100-foot ladder trucks. All frontline fire trucks are equipped with thermal imaging cameras, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and carbon monoxide detectors. The fire department also maintains a reserve fleet of vehicles that are utilized when frontline trucks are out of service. The reserve trucks include two engines, one rescue pumper, and one 75-foot ladder truck which are also used during callback procedures in the event of a large fire.

The fire department also conducts fire safety inspections of all city businesses on an annual basis. Six fire personnel serve as special inspectors that oversee plan review, inspect high hazard locations, and perform new business inspections. In 2014, the fire department and the city’s IT department developed a new software system to assist the department in tracking fire inspections and verifying business addresses.

Firefighters provide a variety of fire safety programs that include: workplace fire extinguisher training, a simulated fire trailer, and the education of children on the importance of fire safety and exit plans. Each fire station also has multiple firefighters that are certified child passenger safety seat installation technicians.

All fire personnel are state-licensed emergency medical technicians or paramedics and many are trained to perform specialized services including high angle and water rescue, trench collapse, automobile extrication, confined space and structural collapse operations.